| v |
Contents
Preface
ix
Acknowledgments
xiii
1 Introduction to Book Indexing 1
Information Overload
3
Open-system vs. Closed-system Indexing
The Future of the Book
The Index as Paratext
5
6
The Long History of Indexes
What Is an Index?
7
7
The Purpose of an Index
10
The Audience: Who Uses Indexes?
Terminology
References
4
13
17
19
2 The Author and the Index 21
The Book Contract and the Index
23
The Writing Process and the Index
Who Should Prepare the Index?
25
28
Relationship between Author and Indexer
3 Getting Started 43
The Book Production Process
45
The Nature of Indexing Work
47
What Not to Index
51
34
.

or Martha Wheeler’s treatise “Indexing: Principles.| ix |
Preface
Many times during the writing of this book I asked myself why I had
taken on the task. You will have a knack for it or you won’t. both are out of print. and the reasons for following
or not following them. this book attempts to address the real-world aspects
of book indexing. Norman Knight’s book Indexing. I exposed my students to a bit
from here and a bit from there. While G. would have been a ﬁne primary text. Various index formats can be
discussed. I
recognized that not every aspiring indexer could take my class or one of
the few others offered in this country that are devoted to book indexing.
Those who wish to know about book-indexing methods have few places
to turn for reference. can be presented.
Book indexing is something you will either enjoy or detest. the Art of (1979). After teaching book indexing for several years. I do not
believe that indexing can be taught. Rules. the ability to analyze text objectively and accurately
and to produce a conceptual map that directs readers to speciﬁc portions
of the text involves a way of thinking that can only be guided and encouraged.
Like my classes. However. My ﬁrst motivation was quite pedestrian: I needed a
text for my classes. I grew
tired of piecing together course materials. not taught. Rules. often contradictory material that had to
be put into perspective through lectures or with my own additional written material. But I must include here the caveats I present to my students during our ﬁrst class session. I compare my book-indexing class to a studio painting
. there is
little middle ground. Also. and Examples”
(1968).

My discussions with other
indexers clearly reveal that in the midst of following rules and creating
entries in an accurate and complete fashion.
So. a very important aspect of this work comes down to the individual indexer’s judgment and communicative abilities. Indexing cannot be
reduced to a set of steps that can be followed. it
is a mixture of art and craft. W. an index by its very nature is
interpretive. Like other types of writing. too. After grading hundreds of indexes of the same material.
This is not a “how-to” book in the sense that its rules. It is not a mechanical process. After all. Therein lies the challenge and creativity in indexing. I can tell you various methods for preparing a canvas and for mixing pigments. Lancaster’s Indexing and Abstracting in Theory and
Practice. indexers develop their own styles—as do other writers. Perhaps
I shouldn’t be surprised at this. if followed.
While satisfying my desire to present the many diverse practices in indexing. But I
feel my efforts are preliminary in this regard. a synergy is at work that is
difﬁcult to describe. Although many rules can indeed be taught and
learned.| x | pref ace
class. I do hope. We can look at
the work of other painters to see how they handled color or perspective. will
result in a perfect index. Indexing books is a form of writing. that readers seeking information about how to handle a particular aspect of an index will ﬁnd direction
here. The
best we can do as teachers of indexing is to present the rules and offer
guidance.
But I cannot turn you into a painter. in indexing. I have learned from my students that good indexes come in a variety of forms. In this
book I have attempted to explain what it is we indexers really do. My book primarily addresses authored indexes such as those found
in books. Just when I think I have seen all the possible permutations
of the one standard index assigned in all of my classes. my book does not provide detailed treatment of indexing methods used for online information retrieval.
So much for my ﬁrst and most immediate reason for writing this book. someone comes
up with a new and quite brilliant way of handling the material. Unlike F. the book attempts to come to terms with the seemingly elusive
aspects of our craft. however. Readers interested in the intricacies of Web-site indexing will ﬁnd valuable information in Glenda
. judgment and selection. Nor is this book intended to be an encyclopedic or historical treatment of indexing like Hans Wellisch’s fascinating book Indexing from A
to Z. We can discuss types of paints and brushes. With practice and
experience.

p re fac e | x i |
Browne and Jonathan Jermey’s Website Indexing: Enhancing Access to
Information within Websites.
When I ﬁrst considered writing about book indexing. I caution readers to keep in mind that much
of the material presented in these pages does not reﬂect the recommendations of the University of Chicago Press.
. it would be a
perfect match. will ﬁnd that I have described our methods and
our profession well. It is
about practice. I decided quite early that I wanted the University of Chicago Press to publish my book. If you
are preparing an index for the University of Chicago Press. I am honored and extremely pleased that this book is published by Chicago. I wondered who
might publish such a book.
This book pulls together various approaches to book indexing. However. do review the
guidelines presented in the ﬁfteenth edition of CMS before proceeding. experienced book indexers. Because of the widespread acceptance by the North American publishing community of the indexing
guidelines in The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). not theory. Chicago’s preferences
for index presentation are of course discussed. It is my hope that novice indexers will ﬁnd
within these pages the guidance they seek and that my colleagues. But the opinions expressed
in this book are mine and are not necessarily endorsed in CMS. In my mind.

.

Thanks are due to Victoria Agee. who bravely agreed
to index this book. Janet Shuter. A special thanks goes to Victoria Baker.
I truly appreciate the support of the University of Chicago Press for
publishing a new edition of my book. In late 2002 ﬁve readers were commissioned by the
University of Chicago Press to review the ﬁrst edition and offer suggestions for the revision.| xiii |
Acknowledgments
This book is the result of both the knowing and the unknowing collaboration of many people in the indexing and publishing community. Jessica Milstead. and Do Mi Stauber.”
I appreciate the many comments that were made by readers of the ﬁrst
edition of this book. Bell. Jean
Mann. I am
indebted to those who so willingly shared their thoughts with me and
gave of their time. three of them
agreed to review the ﬁrst draft of the second edition: Victoria Agee. Linda J. Hazel K.” I thank all the students who wouldn’t let me
get away with answers like “It’s the rule” or “That’s the way we’ve always
done it. Halvorson and Mary Laur
. Jean
Mann. Additionally. Sylvia Coates.
During my ﬁfteen years of teaching I came to know many students. and Do Mi Stauber.
I want to thank all of them for contributing greatly to my abilities as a
teacher.
Several colleagues offered comments on various sections of this revision or answered my spur-of-the-moment questions without hesitation: Victoria Baker. Thérèse Shere. There is one three-letter word that all good students have on the
tip of their tongue—“why. and
Jan Wright.

Closed-system Indexing 4
The Future of the Book
The Index as Paratext
5
6
The Long History of Indexes
What Is an Index?
7
7
What an Index Is Not 8
The Index as Hypertext 9
The Index as a Knowledge Structure
The Purpose of an Index 10
The Audience: Who Uses Indexes?
Specialized Subject Knowledge
How Are Indexes Used? 14
The Ideal Index 16
13
14
10
.| 1 |
Chapter One
introduction to book indexing
Information Overload
3
Open-system vs.

Case (2002) devotes a portion of a
chapter to “Information Overload and Anxiety” and offers this amusing
thought:
. ﬁve exabytes of information is equivalent in size to
the information contained in half a million new libraries the size of the
Library of Congress print collections. The study attempted to estimate how
much new information is created each year. in early
1998. the nineteen million books and other
print collections in the Library of Congress would contain about ten terabytes of information. magnetic. Yes.| 3 |
I
just googled Google. released a report. I typed “google” into Google’s search ﬁeld and
in 0.10 seconds over 152 million results were returned. No one would have understood my ﬁrst
sentence at that time. Google would become the most popular search engine on the Internet. “How
big is ﬁve exabytes? If digitized.” Furthermore. The report surveys a broad
spectrum of information sources: “Newly created information is stored
in four physical media—print. The explosive growth of the Internet
combined with increasingly sophisticated search tools has made us all
more aware of the need to access relevant information efﬁciently. Very quickly.”
These researchers found that in 2002 the print. the report estimates
that the amount of stored information in these four physical media grew
by 30 percent per year between 1999 and 2002. and
optical storage media produced ﬁve exabytes of new information.” Donald O.
The sheer volume of information has led to the coining of the phrase
“information overload. ﬁlm.
radio and TV. Google did not even exist. and the Internet. However. magnetic and optical—and seen or
heard in four information ﬂows through electronic channels—telephone. this is an
extreme example of being ﬂooded with information. How Much Information?
2003 (Lyman and Varian 2003). Berkeley. ﬁlm.
Information Overload
In 2003 the School of Information Management and Systems at the University of California.

with the World Wide Web
now competing with television in the degree to which it juxtaposes
strange images on a screen. index ﬁnger.
We see the word index in many contexts—index of leading economic
indicators. magazine claimed that there had been over 3. What irony: even our awareness of overload
is overloaded! (101)
A Google search on “information overload” produced 620. and that there were over 15. while open-system indexing is designed to
facilitate the retrieval of one or more documents that contain relevant
information” (23–24). What is not so well understood is that an index is a device for providing access to relevant information—and that is what this
book is about. see F. Internet search engines are examples of open-system indexing. The focus of this discussion is the indexing of books.| 4 | ch apter one
Given the proliferation of media in our time. Klement distinguishes the two systems in this way: “Closed-system indexing assists people in ﬁnding a unit or units of relevant information within a document.000 Web sites that
mentioned that concept. For information about open-system indexing
processes.
while the focus of closed-system indexing is on a text that is static and
ﬁxated in a particular form. W. the Roman Catholic Church’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Closed-system Indexing
A useful framework for discussion of indexing is provided by Susan Klement in “Open-system Versus Closed-system Indexing: A Vital Distinction”
(2002). newspapers.000 results
in early 2005. Even within the indexing and information science
communities.
There are indexes to books. indexed database
ﬁles.
. databases.
Open-system vs. Open-system indexing often deals with collections that grow. index of
refraction. Lancaster’s Indexing and Abstracting in Theory and
Practice (2003).
Web sites. consumer price index. I am sure that all would agree that a massive amount of
information is of little value if there is no access to relevant content of
that information. and in help ﬁles for software. indexing processes cover a wide spectrum of applications. it is inevitable that overload will become an
ever more present distraction in making sense of the world. e-books. middle. The back-of-the-book index is an example of closed-system
indexing.000
newspaper and magazine articles on “information overload” published
in the previous two years. Most
books are closed systems that contain a beginning. periodicals. We are concerned here with the preparation of a closedsystem index. A January
1999 feature in Inc. and end. mutual fund index.

In November 2003 the Italian novelist and scholar Umberto Eco spoke
at the newly opened Bibliotheca Alexandria. It is worth
recalling what Jessica Milstead wrote: “Whenever a collection of informa-
. print or electronic.
The Future of the Book
It may seem quaint in the twenty-ﬁrst century to discuss the printed
book—after all. It matters not what delivery format
the book takes on.
I think that computers are diffusing a new form of literacy. Curiously enough. the methods presented have far-reaching applications. this kind of debate is not especially new. but they
are incapable of satisfying all the intellectual needs they are stimulating. While the e-book industry strives
to standardize itself. not
only in order to receive information but also to speculate and to reﬂect
about it.
and has been argued in one form or another for decades.
Keeping the notion of a closed system in mind.
Nicholas A. ﬂexible. Basbanes (2003. books still represent the most economical. washand-wear way to transport information at a very low cost. if not dead.
Although the discussion in this book will focus on closed-system indexing. is certainly
moribund. Computer
communication travels ahead of you. 311–312) reminds us:
When people gather today to talk seriously about “books of the future. in other words. often with
great passion and conviction on both sides of the issue.
The future of book indexing is intricately tied to the future of the book. not only for literature
but for any circumstances in which one needs to read carefully. I have no doubts about
the continued existence of the book. He has no doubts about the
future of books:
Good news: books will remain indispensable. the printed book will continue as the most efﬁcient
and pleasurable reading device ever invented.
The book as we know it. books travel with you and at your
speed. In the concluding volume of his trilogy about the world of books. the demise of the printed book has been predicted for
years.”
the discussion inevitably is driven by what some see as the ubiquitous
triumph of modern technology and the certain obsolescence of print.intro ductio n t o b ook i n d e xi n g | 5 |
Books have two delivery formats: printed on paper and displayed as pixels on a screen.
Up to now.

and afterwords”
(xviii). The paratexts.
unfortunately. 229) provides an enhanced list of paratexts: “titles. but also makes judgments about them. a poorly chosen typeface or an unappealing dust
jacket will not encourage sales of a book. paper. is functionality. The functionality of an index. topical view of the content. 192). that mediate the
book to the reader: titles and subtitles. and bindings. “The paratext is only an assistant.
add value to a book. epilogues. and other paratexts. He concludes. For example.
The Index as Paratext
Another way to think of book indexes is as paratext. In the foreword to Paratexts:
Thresholds of Interpretation (Genette 1997) Richard Macksey includes
this description of paratextuality: “liminal devices and conventions. appendices. the book index bridges a gap between author and reader. or the medium on which it is stored.” The paratexts all contribute to how a book is
received. It
reconciles the vocabulary of the reader with that of the author. Indexes are taken for granted in print and. epigraphs. .
only an accessory of the text” (410). forewords. a good index provides an intellectual view of the
content unavailable by any other means. Whereas the Glossary provides a
shallow. dedications.
both within the book (peritext) and outside it (epitext). was described well in the preface
of The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing (Kasdorf 2003) in this way:
The third major avenue into the Guide is the Index. the main issue for the paratext is not to ‘look nice’ around the text
but rather to ensure for the text a destiny consistent with the author’s
purpose” (1997. illustrations. (lvi)
.
Genette points out that the “most essential of the paratext’s properties
. dust jackets. selecting
the most important and relevant sections to direct readers to. indexes. Whatever aesthetic intention may come into play as
well. This is a particularly
notable feature of the Guide. intertitles. It is the result of an intelligent
reading by an indexer trained in recognizing and documenting the
interrelationships of the intellectual content. its location. the
quality of the index determines its value perhaps more than any other
factor” (Milstead 1984. when done well. This term was introduced in the 1980s by Gérard Genette. . by reason of its size.
type design.
cannot conveniently be scanned in its entirety by any would-be user. pseudonyms. the indexer not only notes
topics and subtopics.
As paratext. and the Table of Contents provides a
logical. notes. Nicholas Basbanes (2003. structured view. prefaces.| 6 | ch apter one
tion. rarely provided online. 407).

39). the answer to the question What is
an index? is not self-evident. The type of index of interest to us is
deﬁned as “a usually alphabetical list that includes all or nearly all items
.
Indexing of books did not begin. the National Information Standards Organization
deﬁnes an index as “a systematic guide designed to indicate topics or features of documents in order to facilitate retrieval of documents or parts
of documents” (Anderson and NISO 1997. The index is
one of the oldest information retrieval devices.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) takes us back to the Latin root
index (n). For more on the history and meaning of index. Its History and Meanings. lives of the saints.5). Although the exact date of the ﬁrst index
is a matter of debate. as is commonly thought.
Merriam-Webster Unabridged online dictionary produces no fewer than
107 entries that include the word index. the foreﬁnger. both as a noun
and as a verb.
The International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 999 (1996)
deﬁnes an index as an “alphabetically or otherwise ordered arrangement
of entries. When the earliest scribe
produced a document that could not be easily browsed. using chapter
and section numbers instead of pagination. Hans Wellisch (1992. after the
invention of printing.intro ductio n t o b ook i n d e xi n g | 7 |
The Long History of Indexes
Information that cannot be located might as well not exist.
Bella Hass Weinberg (1997) has dated a Hebrew manuscript citation
index back to the twelfth century. indexes to
theological treatises.” provided
by Hans Wellisch in his Indexing from A to Z (1995. most of all.
designed to enable users to locate information in a document or speciﬁc
documents in a collection” (3. different from the order of the document or collection indexed. index (v). we can safely say that indexes have been around for
several hundred years. the need for an
index emerged. 199–210). It started with the rise of the universities in the
13th century.
What Is an Index?
In the United States. These entries run the gamut from
alveolar index to wholesale price index. 70) writes. to point out. see the fascinating discussion “Index: The Word. Although no two manuscripts of the same work were
exactly alike and folio or page numbers were seldom used. to collections of sermons were compiled. medical and legal compendia
and. Nonetheless. The OED devotes many
column inches to the various meanings of the word index.

The term index. a list of all the words that appear in a document. but in some other order (e. G. periodicals or other publications.) A concordance. cogent deﬁnition: that work states that an index is
“a systematic guide to the location of words. not generated. indexes are communicative by nature. not in the order in which they appear in the publication.
What an Index Is Not
An index is not a concordance. The
structured arrangement of the index enables users to locate information
efﬁciently. An index consists of a series
of entries appearing.
even in alphabetic order. for a full. Neither is the index simply an outline of the book. and that is
usually put at or near the end of the work.g. It is simply a list of
words. that gives with each item the
place (as by page number) where it may be found in the work. Indexes are written. is not an umbrella under which any alphabetic list
. names of people and places) considered of special pertinence
and fully or partially covered or merely mentioned in a printed or written
work (as a book. A concordance lacks analysis and synthesis. Index writers strive for
directness. or dissertation). and clarity without the use of prefatory remarks
or complete sentence structures. Communication goals are achieved with
a minimum number of communication tools. lvi). The Art of (1979). as it will
be used in this book.
An index is not a more elaborate version of the table of contents. concepts or other items in
books. As creative.
authored works. The writing of an
index differs from other types of writing in that an index employs only the
most basic writing tools needed for ultimate clarity.| 8 | ch apter one
(as topics.”
In his classic Indexing. does not provide an “intellectual view of the content unavailable by any other means” (Kasdorf 2003.
An index is not a mere appendage to a book. (See chapter 10 for an example of a concordance. catalog.”
I myself ﬁnd the following deﬁnition useful: An index is a structured
sequence—resulting from a thorough and complete analysis of text—of
synthesized access points to all the information contained in the text. It is a separate and distinct written document. the standard current at the time he wrote
his book. Like other
types of writing. succinctness. together with references to show where each
item is located. alphabetical) chosen to enable the
user to ﬁnd them quickly. Norman Knight turns to
the British Standard of 1976. indexes are granted copyright registration.

Boyd Rayward (1994. . 237) writes. If they wish.” For example. the Traité de Documentation. records. For example. an electronic encyclopedia that discusses
Abraham Lincoln may refer to the Gettysburg Address. of course. Here was a simple
technology to be exploited by those who had the imagination to see the
potential implicit in it. An index serves only one purpose: it enables readers to locate
information efﬁciently. the theoretical prototype of hypertext can be traced back to the
early twentieth century. W.”
Bush describes a device called a memex that will be used by individuals to store “books.
While Ted Nelson is credited by some with popularizing the notion of
hypertext. 238). “a special button transfers
him immediately to the ﬁrst page of the index. if
someone is looking at a book on their memex. Paul Otlet published a magisterial work
of synthesis. be they bibliographical or substantive. “In 1934. “As We May Think.” How will people locate information in the memex? “There is. readers can select the Gettysburg
Address link and be shown its complete text. The phrase “Gettysburg Address” may be highlighted in some way to convey to readers
that it is a linked topic. Readers can choose to review linked topics
in a nonlinear way.intro ductio n t o b ook i n d e xi n g | 9 |
can huddle.” In 1918 Otlet described his Monographic Principle based
on note cards.
The Index as Hypertext
Hypertext is a method used to link related information within a document or between documents. . Cards permitted the ‘analytical’ recording of single. “What ﬁred his imagination was the realization of the
bibliographical uses to which standard three-by-ﬁve-inch cards and later
loose sheets or leaves of standard sizes could be put. Any given book of his library can thus be called up and consulted with far greater facility than
. The Traité is perhaps the
ﬁrst systematic.
and so effectively the creation of what in hypertext are nodes or chunks
of text” (Rayward 1994. some 35 or 40 years before Ted Nelson began to develop his ideas
of a fabled information Xanadu.
some ten years before Vannevar Bush published his ideas about a memex. and communications. modern discussion of general problems of organizing
information. provision for consultation of the record by the usual scheme of indexing.
Another seminal contribution was an information retrieval and annotation system described by Vannevar Bush in his 1945 article in the Atlantic
Monthly.
separate pieces of information. .

this structure is transparent to readers. he can leave
the index and return quickly to the text. when readers are unable to locate their topics. it is something else:
All this is conventional. This is the essential feature of the memex. The very
nature of the hierarchical arrangement implies a graded series of relationships and results in an obvious structure for access to the information. to locate information about a topic. the index is
historically one of the ﬁrst hypertext tools made available to readers. However. however.
The Purpose of an Index
One of the most cogent discussions of the purpose of an index can be
found in the British Standard (BS 3700: 1988.” Bush describes the memex machinery in
fascinating detail. It affords an immediate step. numbering added):
.
A proper index is an intricate network of interrelationships. While a poor index may
contain references to all the important information in the text.| 10 | ch apter o ne
if it were taken from a shelf. A reader turns to an
index with a speciﬁc purpose. In this regard. At this point the index has failed to provide quick
and easy access to information. The process of tying
two items together is the important thing. such an index has limited value
to the user. they must stop and more closely examine the
structure of the index. Ideally. except for the projection forward of presentday mechanisms and gadgetry. it is not the mechanics of the memex that is
fundamental. the basic idea of which is a provision whereby
any item may be caused at will to select immediately and automatically
another. 3.
The Index as a Knowledge Structure
The value of an index lies in how it is organized.
to associative indexing. if it is not
systematically organized for easy access. In order to better understand the components of the index network we must go beyond deﬁnitions and examine
the purpose of an index. sec. a good index can send them right to the speciﬁc place
in the book where the information is located. However. the reader’s needs are satisﬁed. Readers looking for speciﬁc information do not need
to begin at page 1.
Hypertext linking allows us to read in a nonlinear manner and follow trails. The book index likewise allows readers to jump into a text in a
nonlinear fashion. When
that topic is easily located.

Group together information on subjects that is scattered by the arrangement of the document. the language of the text dictates to a great
degree the language that should be used in the index. If we do not make these distinctions. analyzes text. Direct the user seeking information under terms not chosen for the
index headings to the headings that have been chosen.
4. several paragraphs
may be devoted to various types of dog food. concepts
are to be identiﬁed and analyzed.
Second. Identify and locate relevant information within the material being indexed. Arrange entries into a systematic and helpful order.
Later in this book I will discuss various ways to handle synonyms.
8.
5. in a book about raising dogs. Analyse concepts treated in the document so as to produce a series of
headings based on its terminology. Exclude passing mention of subjects that offers nothing signiﬁcant to
the potential user. and identiﬁes relevant concepts whether they are mentioned or not. First. however. Concepts in a book are not always stated
verbatim. An indexer should
. For example.
3. Indicate relationships between concepts. In
regard to indexes in general. the concept nutrition should be in the index.
The ﬁrst three items above require that the indexer judge the difference
between relevant and irrelevant information. we waste the readers’ time.
7. The
indexer reads between the lines. Often indexers are instructed to index every
name in the text regardless of relevancy.
9.
Item 4 addresses two important functions of an index.
It is indeed the job of indexers to distinguish between substantive information and passing mention of a topic.
2. Discriminate between information on a subject and passing mention
of a subject. item 4 directs us to use the terminology of the document.
6. Synthesize headings and subheadings into entries.intro ductio n t o b ook i n d e xi n g | 11 |
f u nc t ion of a n inde x
1. The
author’s language should always take precedence over alternative terms. That indexers should actually pass judgment on the relevancy of information in a text makes some
observers uncomfortable. by means of
cross-references. Never is the word nutrition
mentioned. We have all looked up entries in
an index only to ﬁnd nothing of value in the text at the point referenced.

The basic hierarchy of an index entry—that is.| 12 | ch apter o ne
not impose an external taxonomy that is not reﬂected in the document
itself.
Item 7 instructs the indexer to “synthesize headings and subheadings
into entries. not at cars. At other times
the synthesis process is more complex. main heading
with subheadings—indicates a relationship between concepts. Strict adherence to this
guideline does become difﬁcult when working with multiauthored works. synthesized entry contributes
greatly to the integrity of the index network. information about nutrition was presented in various parts of the book.” The indexer’s ability to put together distinct topical and
conceptual elements so as to form a whole. At times this effort is as simple as resolving differences between synonymous terms. objective realism is
discussed in a passage in which the phrase is not stated verbatim.
we might ﬁnd an index entry like the following:
nutrition
and bone development in puppies. They should not have to second-guess the
indexer and try to ﬁgure out if more information might be found at some
other place. The See
also cross-reference is another tool used in the index to indicate relationships. The
indexer has assembled for the reader the relevant information about nutrition. 89
As we can see from the page references in the example above. and rightly so. or. their
conﬁdence in the index suffers. Using the earlier example about dog food and nutrition. All too
often inexperienced indexers focus on the minutiae of the text and neglect the big picture. say. worse. they should ﬁnd references for all relevant information
about that term. at many other places in the index.
When readers discover that information in an index is scattered. If the author uses the term autos in the text. “Group together information on subjects that is
scattered by the arrangement of the document.” refers to a much more
subtle aspect of the index network. When readers look up a particular
term in an index. 120–25
vitamin supplements. as when. Identifying related information and gathering it together in an
appropriate place is one of the more difﬁcult aspects of indexing. Users of an index should
be able to look up a term and feel conﬁdent that all the relevant information has been gathered there.
Items 5 and 6 relate to building the network of interrelationships in
the index. then the information
about autos should be posted at autos.
. 30–35
skin problems and diet. 67–70
food and. However. item 6.
which will be discussed in more detail in chapter 6.

This is particularly true of reference books. Again. They anticipate the language of index users and
reconcile the language of the document with the users’ language. People who have not read the book are not familiar with the author’s language. they must spend time discovering the various
ways a topic has been cited. Judicious use of cross-references
can greatly enhance the usability of an index.
In the autos example used earlier. Readers of these books inevitably become
familiar with the author’s language. The most common arrangement order for index entries is alphabetic. as we shall see in
chapter 5. Without cross-references. the cadence of their search for information is disrupted. there should also be a cross-reference (“cars. the See cross-reference.intr o ductio n t o b ook i n d e xi n g | 13 |
While item 7 refers to the design of individual index entries. However. By their very nature
. Indexers must always ask themselves. This is one reason it is so
important for the indexer to retain the author’s terminology. item 9
discusses the arrangement of index entries. Cross-references are an integral
part of the index network. there is more than one way to alphabetize. the usability
of the index has been compromised. the primary purpose of an index is to enable readers to locate information efﬁciently. The burden is on the indexer to anticipate the language
of readers that may differ from that of the author. although the information about automobiles should be listed at this term. Who
are these readers?
The Audience: Who Uses Indexes?
We can begin by dividing the audience into two general categories: those
who have read the book and those who have not.
In order to provide appropriate cross-references the indexer must be
intimately familiar with the language of the book and the readers’ language. An index
that is thorough and complete will meet the needs of this portion of the
audience.
readers have no guidance. When appropriate cross-references are lacking. There are books that
are read from cover to cover. See cross-references control the scattering of
information in an index. and to anticipate the
expectations of different readers.
We can assume that most index users will not have read a book in its
entirety.
Item 8 addresses the crucial element of cross-references in an index—
in particular. They are the readers who are likely
to look up terms that were used by the author. See autos”) in the index.
Meeting the needs of those who have not read the book is far more
difﬁcult.

For example. the easier it is to identify their language needs. A general trade book about growing roses will have an audience
very different from a book about chemical pest management in citrus
groves. A thorough cookbook index will anticipate the
needs of both types of readers. Will the readers
have specialized subject knowledge? How will they use the index?
Specialized Subject Knowledge
Some books clearly require of their readers specialized subject knowledge. We need to ask. whereas in the pest management book we may need an entry
for Aphidoidea as well as for the various genera and species using their
Latin names.
One cook may look up sauces. cookbooks.
Generally speaking. while another cook may be more focused
and look up Madeira sauce. A reference manual for a word-processing program
may have an entry searching for text. in a
book that assumes a background in information science an entry named
search techniques will be adequate. This time the indexer cannot assume
that most readers will know that information about ﬁnding or locating
text will be posted at searching for text. and many gardening books. employee beneﬁts handbooks. the more specialized knowledge that is required of
readers.| 14 | ch apter o ne
reference books are designed to be referred to. However. The indexer anticipates that readers may look up ﬁnding text or locating text and provides cross-references
to direct readers to the searching for text entry. In the book on growing roses an entry for aphids may be sufﬁcient.
There are books whose audience is composed of readers with and
without specialized subject knowledge. corporate policy and procedures manuals.
How Are Indexes Used?
Depending on the type of book.
In a mass-market book that assumes little or no specialized knowledge
the indexer must anticipate that some items may be looked up by readers
in a variety of ways.
Reference books deserve further comment. Although there are exceptions—some
. style manuals. not to be read straight
through. the index does not need to provide access for those readers who might look up ﬁnd or locate. we can make some general assumptions
about the way indexes are used. the audiences for
reference books can be quite different. Cookbooks are a good example. Included in this category
are a wide range of books: computer software manuals.

she would continue her search. He ﬁnds an entry
for jammed paper.
If she is fortunate.
she looks under poultry.
We will begin with Sally Serendipity.
. Suppose Sally wants to use leftover chicken for dinner. if unsuccessful there. He is lucky that the
indexer thoroughly indexed this three-page section. They
need not think about the index structure or spend a lot of time searching. the index mediates the book to the reader. The paper has jammed in the laser printer. These index users should
be able to locate terms like jammed paper and stopping bleeding in the indexes. Peter grabs his printer
manual. A mother frantically turns to a home
medical guide to ﬁnd out how to stop her child’s arm from bleeding. she then looks under chicken and. As a
rich paratext. It turns out that paper jams are discussed in the “Troubleshooting” section along with a myriad of other problems. Peter has a problem that needs to be solved immediately. For users like Peter Perplexed.
To provide reasonable access points for information. the indexer will have provided several access points
for the information she needs.intro ductio n t o b ook i n d e xi n g | 15 |
people actually do read indexes—for the most part. He is trying to print a report that he must deliver in twenty minutes to his boss. Not
ﬁnding it there. readers turn to the
index because they want information about a speciﬁc topic. Users of an index
that anticipates their needs ﬁnd its internal structure transparent.
The indexes for the printer manual and the home medical guide should
address the needs of both types of index users. This
index user has no time to examine the internal structure of the index or to
think about whether she should look up general terms or speciﬁc terms. the index does not exist independently of its audience. She
turns to her cookbook index and looks up kung pao chicken in the Ks. She might even browse
the index casually and discover a more appropriate recipe. an index user who has time and
patience. The topic was also indexed as paper. chicken with
almonds in ginger sauce.
Imagine a more serious situation. indexers must
have a thorough understanding of a book’s audience. As a communicative network. Let’s look at
the way two users approach an index. jamming of and
troubleshooting.
At the other end of the spectrum is Peter Perplexed. Although Sally might experience some irritation
on the third try. He doesn’t
know how to open the printer to dislodge the paper. the index should be action-oriented. The users of computer manuals and online help ﬁles often
fall into this category. who has no time
or patience.

or numerical order. precise. A stellar index that meets the needs of a majority of users does not emerge without careful thought and design choices
by the indexer. Some of these will be discussed in
chapter 2.
if there is a category of material that is not indexed. ﬁnd the information they seek.
s t ruc t u r e a nd ac c u r ac y of t he inde x en t r ie s
The index entries should be arranged in a recognizable or stated searchable order.
The index should represent the text and not be a vehicle for expressing the indexer’s own views and interests.
However. or with other appropriate devices. and unambiguous headings. double-postings. There are indeed circumstances that by their very nature
compromise the quality of the index.
The Ideal Index
As we shall see in the chapters that follow. this should be
stated in the introductory note. many factors contribute to the
writing of an excellent index. Every index can be examined and found wanting in some respects. or that are expressed in varying terminology. Our mission is always to provide efﬁcient access to information.
.
It can certainly be argued that there is no such thing as a perfect index. There are times to follow rules.
All signiﬁcant items in the text must appear in the index. However. classiﬁed. should be intentional to facilitate access. the indexer’s goal is to write the best index possible given the
circumstances.
c on t en t of t he inde x
The index must bring together references to similar concepts that are
scattered in the text.| 16 | ch apter o ne
They turn to the index. such as alphabetical. chronological. if used. and immediately
return to the text. This
can be done by establishing a single heading with subheadings.
Items and concepts in the text must be represented in the index by
appropriate. by using
cross-references. Inclusion of synonymous headings and spelling variations.
The American Society of Indexers (ASI) has formulated criteria for
judging an annual book-indexing competition. The index
headings should be consistent in form and in usage. Two sections of the criteria—“Content of the Index” and “Structure and Accuracy of the Index
Entries”—clearly list many of the components of a high-quality index
(American Society of Indexers 2004). there are times to break
rules. accurate.

symbols. and obsolete or idiosyncratic terms
in the text are related to terms in current use. index entry. Dorothy Thomas. subheadings.
Strings of undifferentiated locators should generally be avoided by
use of appropriate subheadings or other appropriate devices.
Abbreviations.
There are ﬁve terms that will be used throughout this book that require
identiﬁcation: main heading. spoke at the annual ASI conference about
a variety of topics.
There must be a sufﬁcient number of cross-references in the index
so that related items are connected.1 includes these ﬁve items.
Careful readers will notice many similarities between the ASI judging criteria and the British Standard’s “Function of an Index.
it has been referred to by at least six terms: access point. 18)
In May of 1988. Lastly. Figure 1. entry. additional headings. acronyms.intr o ductio n t o b ook i n d e xi n g | 17 |
The locators given in the index should tally with the text. There is a “harmonious coherence” in an orderly and
functional index that users recognize immediately.
.” If we ever
lose sight of what the purpose of an index is. If the
number of locators in a given entry is so large that the aspects of the
heading are not adequately differentiated. rereading of these excerpts
should refresh our minds. Since 1988 the profession has done a better job
standardizing our terminology. 15) uses
a phrase to describe the nature of order that I think applies to the welldesigned index. or modiﬁers should be introduced.
Terminology
Would that the indexing profession could agree on terms so that
the members of the profession could understand each other. including the lack of standard terminology within the
indexing profession.
—Dorothy Thomas (1989.
Main Heading
This is the top line in the index entry hierarchy. an indexer and a past president of the
American Society of Indexers.
and entry. As Thomas points out. or other abridgments of word or
phrases should be explained in an appropriate manner. Headings should be as
speciﬁc as the nature of the collection permits and the purposes of the
users require. Christopher Alexander (2002. subheading. cross-reference. reference locator.